Looking Back at 2014; Moving Forward to 2015

As 2014 begins to wind down, I am thinking about what has stood out for me this past year.

Most of the first part of the year, I devoted my time and efforts to telling the world about Justina Pelletier. As you may remember, she is the young teen from Connecticut with mitochondrial disorder who was removed from her parents’ custody by Child Protective Services (CPS) when her parents began to question the medical treatment offered by Boston Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

After a long and arduous battle lasting approximately 16 months, Justina’s parents decided to ignore the court’s gag order and go public with what was happening to their daughter. Their efforts and those who supported them, resulted in Justina finally being returned to her parents’ custody. Last reports indicate that Justina is currently hospitalized and experiencing difficulties, still lingering from her ordeal.

Then there is Lexi Dillon, another child removed by CPS following Lexi’s allegations that her father had sexually abused her. To date, it is my understanding that her mother no longer knows of Lexi’s whereabouts and fears the worst. Her mother continues to fight for Lexi, in what appears to be an uphill battle with the courts.

Additionally, this case took a twist, when an expert hired by the father in the Dillon case, ended up changing his position to support the mother’s position. However, according to a previous interview I conducted with the expert, the court never allowed him an opportunity to testify on the mother’s behalf.

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Then there are two other CPS cases that captured my attention: Dylan Wesolowski and Isaiah Rider.

The Wesolowski case involved allegations that a SWAT team came to the mother’s residence after receiving a report that the mother had allegedly choked her child. The child was subsequently removed by CPS and was out of the custody of his mother for quite some time. He has now been returned to the custody of his mother after attorneys became involved.

Isaiah Rider, however, is not so lucky. His is a long and complicated case, wherein the mother was accused of medical abuse, just like the parents in the Pelletier case. Isaiah, who is now 17 years old, was removed from this mother’s custody and has not been returned to her. Currently, he has just returned from the hospital and reports indicate that he is suffering with continuing medical issues.

While many believe that these are just atypical cases that will never happen to their family, it’s probably safe to say that the mothers and fathers involved in these cases never thought it would happen to them and their children.

Then there were all the scandals that never seem to come to resolution, for the most part, and will most likely linger into 2015.

Scandals involving the IRS, the NSA, and Benghazi, all seem to drag on with uncooperativeness by participants at the core of the problem.

However, we will have to wait and see if the system has really changed so that veterans will no longer die waiting for medical treatment or if this is another case of making it appear that all is being changed in hopes that the public will eventually lose interest and move onto the next scandal that will inevitably arise under this administration.

Additionally, there were all the executive orders that Obama has signed this year and years past. While executive orders have been utilized by former presidents, none have signed orders that many claim blatantly violate the U.S. Constitution. And yet, because of political correctness, the President continues to enact broad sweeping laws, like “Amnesty” without much pushback.

Finally, we still have race baiters like Al Sharpton, Attorney General Eric Holder, and even our President who would like nothing more than to see this country divided along racial lines.

The Michael Brown case, the Eric Garner case, and the Tamir Rice case are all individual occurrences that need to be investigated, but they are not examples of racism by our police officers, as those encouraging civil unrest would have us believe.

image source:wsj.com

Also, allegations of racism by the police from top officials like New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio, may have stoked the fires of already heightened racial tension. Two NYPD Officers were subsequently executed as they sat in their car eating lunch.

What I have come to realize in looking back, is that 2014 was very similar to the year before it, in many respects.

We still have an out of control government that continues on a daily basis to strip away our freedoms.

We have a country where many Americans are more interested in taking selfies than they are at saving this country for their children and grandchildren.

Shamefully, we still see children being taken from their parents for reasons that appear to be unjustified.

We have scandals that are increasing because political correctness and lawlessness have aided in their rates.

The GOP is still not keeping their promises to the American public, nor are Democrats immune from the same disloyalty.

And finally, we are still a country divided by those that benefit from keeping us at odds with each other.

As Americans in 2015, we need to devote our time and energy on righting the wrongs and ills of this country. We must focus on the truth, conduct our own research, and join with like-minded people to call attention to those injustices.

Next, we must join hands with those who are just as sick and tired of the divisiveness as we are and acknowledge what is reported on TV is mostly propaganda that furthers the progressive agenda.

This country is worth every bit of effort that we have to make it a better place for all of us in 2015 and beyond.

We can get there through showing love instead of hate, patience instead of anger, and understanding instead of disgust.

About Author

Susan Calloway Knowles, is a licensed Psychotherapist and former practicing Family Law Attorney, Author, Guest Speaker on Conservative Internet Radio, and a political/cultural Blogger. Susan is also an avid investigative researcher having honed her skills in the legal profession.
Susan’s website, SusanKnowles.com, covers articles she has written on an array of topics, including governmental interference of parental and children’s rights, the U.S. Constitution, military and veterans’ issues, issues pertaining to California from the viewpoint of a conservative living in a Blue State, and hot topics pertaining to the Obama Administration’s policies, including immigration policies. You can also find her on Twitter at @SusanKnowles.
Susan’s book, a political fiction, is entitled “Freedom’s Fight: A Call to Remember,” and is available on Amazon.

In 2008 my life changed when Barack Obama came into my front yard on a campaign stop. I asked him why he wanted to raise taxes, and he said that he wanted to “spread the wealth.” Since then, I have gained a national following as “Joe the Plumber” and now travel the country speaking and encouraging other everyday folks to get involved in the political process.